Small Talk: The Prayer Closet

[Love2dance]

4 hours ago, CherryMalotte said:

I got my X-mas present for this year already - my husband had himself a little trip to the cardiac ICU, there they found a 99% blockage on the left side of the heart.  He is now Mr Stent.  The doctor said to me afterward that Mr Malotte is one lucky guy, if they'd done the treadmill test like they had initially wanted he would have had a heart attack, and it wouldn't be one you walk away from.  Needless to say I was stunned and upset, but am now so grateful he went to the ER after we nagged him.  Chest pain should always equal an immediate ER trip, that's for sure.   

Oh my goodness, Cherrymallotte, I’m so glad your hubby is doing better and got his stent in time. Mr. Dance has has two heart surgeries (mitral valve replacements), so I sure understand the grateful feeling when they are ok. Hope he continues to do well and you can enjoy the holidays.

Edited November 19, 2018 by Love2dance

[Christina87]

12 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

I went on a date once with a guy I met online (this was several years ago) and he only had two pictures on his profile but fine. I make sure that I have full body shots, makeup/no makeup shots etc so that EVERYONE knows what they are getting. @Christina87, the photos he used of himself were AT LEAST 100lbs lighter. It was him, but geez! I didn’t even recognize him when I was sitting at the restaurant! We didn’t vibe so no hard feelings but golly, did he think women wouldn’t notice? If a woman did that she would be racked over the coals. 

HAHAHAHA! I can't imagine what you thought! I do the same as you...I put all different kinds of pics too, so they will know what they're getting. I try to make every pic have value...for example, I might put up a less attractive shot in Times Square, for example, so it still shows that I like to do fun things. No point in wasting an opportunity to say something positive about yourself through a picture, but I agree with you. I like to have a couple of slightly unflattering ones so they aren't disappointed! I'd sooooo much rather someone just look over my profile and say "next" than go on a date with me and then cease all contact!

brunch dates are an awesome idea!!! I have literally never thought of that! Thanks for the idea! I'm just not a huge coffee person, and only really like frappucinos. They're desserty, so I'm just not up for drinking them at odd times of the day on a frequent basis. I'd honestly rather a guy take me to McDonald's if he isn't sure about me, lol! A value meal combo would be a lot of calories too, but at least it would be a meal, and not a huge caloric excess for no reason. ? The fact that they're short definitely can be an advantage, though. I absolutely never plan a multi-event date for a first date. I've shown up to too many dinner dates where I'd wished I'd said no to a movie or games!

Hahahaha once I met a guy for drinks, and he was just...no. He lived with his ex girlfriend, whom he was COMPLETELY infatuated with, saying he would not consider throwing her out because she didn't want to live alone, and he would wait until she had a new boyfriend. He got soooo mad at the idea that maybe it wasn't a healthy situation for him! He was also really whiny, and it was crystal clear that he didn't accept any responsibility for any mistakes he made. Everything was someone else's fault! Even worse, I knew the bartender, and he kept telling her we were a couple! We were supposed to do a movie, but I made up some excuse and noped it out of there! He called me the next day and defensively told me that he talked it over with his ex, and they were indignant that I'd suggested he move her out. He said it was overreaching, as I was a new relationship and couldn't dictate the terms of his life. I'd only been telling him to leave for his own health, not because I liked him! I played along though, to avoid hurting his feelings. Some dates are best left as short as possible!

[Sew Sumi]

@CherryMalotte, I am glad that they caught your hubby's heart issue in time! A wonderful early Christmas present, indeed! ❤

[whydoiwatch]

@CHERRYMALOTTE, so glad your husband's situation had a good outcome. In July of this year, I went to the grocery store and my husband said he was going to mow the lawn before it got too hot. We had been having very hot and humid days. When I was almost home, he called my cell phone saying he was feeling awful. This is a man who had not missed a day of work in 30 years and had no known health problems - saw MD twice yearly, no weight issues, no high blood pressure, etc... I got home, took one look at him and called 911. Luckily we live within 3 blocks of life squad building. He was transported to local (small) hospital and immediately air cared to larger hospital nearby with an acute heart attack. He also had a stent placement for 100% blockage of the right coronary artery.

I know what you went through, very stressful. Our insurance, Anthem, questioned the medical necessity of the air ambulance and the resulting $31,000 +  bill - that just added to the stress. I am a nurse so felt able to respond to their questions and eventually they did pay.

[Mindthinkr]

Where is @bigskygirl? I hope all is well with her and her husband. 

[bythelake]

6 minutes ago, Mindthinkr said:

Where is @bigskygirl? I hope all is well with her and her husband. 

A few weeks ago she said she was having computer problems. She was checking in on the library computer. Maybe, the Montana weather is keeping her at home. Hope that’s all it is.

[Mindthinkr]

3 minutes ago, bythelake said:

A few weeks ago she said she was having computer problems. She was checking in on the library computer. Maybe, the Montana weather is keeping her at home. Hope that’s all it is.

I hope that’s all it is too. 

If you are reading this BigSkyGirl....I miss you. 

[Mindthinkr]

Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday and remember:

[bigskygirl]

19 hours ago, Mindthinkr said:

Where is @bigskygirl? I hope all is well with her and her husband. 

I'm here! Home computer is down. GRRR!!! Weather is good so far. Little snow with cold temperatures, but cannot complain. Looking for a part time job in the human services field. My eyes have been bothering me so no office/computer job for me. Looking at getting a laptop computer (no Dell computer because we always seem to have problems with them as soon as we get one.)

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone and try not to eat too much!

[Mollie]

HAPPY TURKEY DAY !

[bythelake]

3 hours ago, bigskygirl said:

I'm here! Home computer is down. GRRR!!! Weather is good so far. Little snow with cold temperatures, but cannot complain. Looking for a part time job in the human services field. My eyes have been bothering me so no office/computer job for me. Looking at getting a laptop computer (no Dell computer because we always seem to have problems with them as soon as we get one.)

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone and try not to eat too much!

Glad you’re okay. I use an IPad for most things, but if I need to use the laptop, I have an Acer. Really reasonable,Walmart sells them and they’re great. I’ve killed several Dells. My grandkids in college have MacPros, which do last,but the cost is prohibitive.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and all the great posters on this forum.

[Christina87]

Happy thanksgiving, and I hope everyone's dinners are filled with casseroles better than Jill's!

low bar, I know, so everyone will clear it. I wonder how many total cans of soup are involved in the Dillard's meal!

Edited November 22, 2018 by Christina87

[FairyDusted]

Well the Thanksgiving fight has already kicked off. My dumb ass brother just called ,at 11:16 PM, and said him and his hag ass wife MIGHT be here AROUND 3-5. I called him last week and asked him and he blew me off. I mean I'm glad he is coming bye, MAYBE, because he should see our father more that lives with me but DAMN! You can't call during normal business hours??!!! 

Serving Honey Baked Ham. I can't cook a proper turkey to save my life.

Gobble Gobble!

[louannems]

4 hours ago, bythelake said:

Glad you’re okay. I use an IPad for most things, but if I need to use the laptop, I have an Acer. Really reasonable,Walmart sells them and they’re great. I’ve killed several Dells. My grandkids in college have MacPros, which do last,but the cost is prohibitive.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and all the great posters on this forum.

I use my Acer tablet for all my computer needs these days.  I love my cheap Acer tablet and see no reason to fork out big money for a PC ever again.

[Barb23]

Happy Thanksgiving everyone !!

[andromeda331]

Happy Thanksgiving!

[Rabbittron]

It is now officially the Christmas or holiday season depending on what you celebrate because it's Thanksgiving and Wizard of Oz is on.

[EVS]

Happy Thanksgiving! We don’t have family in town to celebrate with, but I am thankful for good friends who include us in their family’s celebration, and I am thankful for this wonderful, caring, online community that is always here, not only to discuss the Duggars, but to support each other through the difficult times. You are all amazing people and I’m so glad I found this forum. 

Edited November 23, 2018 by EVS

[Christina87]

2 hours ago, EVS said:

Happy Thanksgiving! We don’t have family in town to celebrate with, but I am thankful for good friends who include us in their family’s celebration, and I am thankful for this wonderful, caring, online community that is always here, not only to discuss the Duggars, but to support each other through the difficult times. You are all amazing people and I’m so glad I found this forum. 

I agree!!! You guys rock!!! 

[Temperance]

I just want to say I'm thankful for all y'all posters here at PTV. I'm thankful for this forum as a lovely distraction to the rest of the world. Sending good vibes to everyone!

[Mindthinkr]

Yesterday I spent the holiday by myself. I never felt alone or sad because I was able to come here and be with all of you that took time from your busy day to connect. Even if it was just for a moment.  

[emma675]

Mindthinkr, I spent the holiday by myself, too, although I was grateful for it. You're never alone here, I'm thankful you're a part of this group and others we're both in.

My mom is having surgery on Monday so we are doing the holidays later after she's better (she is fighting cancer). I could have gone to dinner with my other side of the family but there were kids and I didn't want to expose myself to any germs right before her surgery. 

[Mindthinkr]

@emma675 I’ve been sick and my kids MIL is on chemo for breast cancer. I thought it wise not to expose her to my germs.  So I was home for about the same reasons that you were. It was a good time to play on my iPad, read a book and give the kitties some quality love. My father called it doping off (there were no drugs involved lol). I hope that everything goes smoothly for your Mom on Monday. She will be in my prayers. 

[lookeyloo]

We are having our holiday dinner today. I spent many years alone on all holidays. Some of them were better than others. I was alone on a lot of them while I was married to the ex. He was a doctor who always volunteered for holidays. Great for patients. Not great for family.  Then after the divorce he got the kids on holidays because of his important schedule. I had to learn to figure out how to make things good for me too. At one point I had a group of single women friends. Some with kids who went to the ex. That turned out to be fun. But many alone and this was before cable tv and internet. 

[Bayarea4]

 Mr. Bay and I don't I have children or other immediate family still living, so it's just the two of us. We got invited out but decided not to accept. Giuseppe, the owner of an Italian restaurant where we've been regulars for over 30 years lives near us and asked us to join him, his wife and son and some of his employees for grilled filet mignon. He's from Argentina and his wife is from Brazil, so Thanksgiving turkey isn't part of their tradition.

We are both rather shy and introverted, and we felt that the enticement of not having to cook wasn't enough to compensate for the stress we would have felt in an unfamiliar environment making social chit-chat with people we don't know that well. And we really would have missed our turkey dinner! Not to mention all the lovely leftovers that we wouldn't be getting.  So I thanked Giuseppe for his kind offer and roasted a turkey breast at home with all the usual sides (which I prepared the day before so they only needed reheating). It was a pleasant, relaxing day.

Edited November 24, 2018 by Bayarea4
spacing; to add a thought

[Zella]

Hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving! :)

 

On 11/18/2018 at 10:58 PM, Christina87 said:

Hahahaha once I met a guy for drinks, and he was just...no. He lived with his ex girlfriend, whom he was COMPLETELY infatuated with, saying he would not consider throwing her out because she didn't want to live alone, and he would wait until she had a new boyfriend. He got soooo mad at the idea that maybe it wasn't a healthy situation for him! 

I had a moment of deja vu reading this. I work at a public library and have been the subject of attention of some, um, interesting men. I don't know why, but I am a magnet for the crazies.

One of them is a retired Elvis impersonator who is about 30 years my senior. He is paranoid about the number 6 and refused to participate in a silent auction because he was assigned the number 6. He is batshit crazy.

He also talks constantly about his ex wife. One of my coworkers told me that they have a standing date to go grocery shopping with each other every week. He also always talked about how they spend holidays together. He once discoursed at me about their 3 standing not date nights, which consist of the shopping, watching a movie/TV, and dinner. He was negotiating with her if a library fundraiser would count as one. He would attempt flirting with me while talking about her. Anyway, he was always whining that he didn't understand why nobody would date him. . . . 

[Catfin]

My sister hosted Thursday, a large group of 41. Four of my five sibs, their spouses, their kids and their spouses/sig others, their little kids plus a few orphaned college kids.  Good food, good company. My mom attended as well, sort of bittersweet as she’s declining. It was a lovely, drama free gathering.  We’re going to make a second meal tomorrow at our house so we have leftovers and can send some back with our college student and her boyfriend. 

[Christina87]

1 hour ago, Zella said:

Hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving! :)

 

I had a moment of deja vu reading this. I work at a public library and have been the subject of attention of some, um, interesting men. I don't know why, but I am a magnet for the crazies.

One of them is a retired Elvis impersonator who is about 30 years my senior. He is paranoid about the number 6 and refused to participate in a silent auction because he was assigned the number 6. He is batshit crazy.

He also talks constantly about his ex wife. One of my coworkers told me that they have a standing date to go grocery shopping with each other every week. He also always talked about how they spend holidays together. He once discoursed at me about their 3 standing not date nights, which consist of the shopping, watching a movie/TV, and dinner. He was negotiating with her if a library fundraiser would count as one. He would attempt flirting with me while talking about her. Anyway, he was always whining that he didn't understand why nobody would date him. . . . 

Yeahhhhh, because an Elvis impersonator who spends most days with his ex is a HUGE catch! LOL! Thanks for the laugh. 😂😂😂

[Zella]

1 minute ago, Christina87 said:

Yeahhhhh, because an Elvis impersonator who spends most days with his ex is a HUGE catch! LOL! Thanks for the laugh. 😂😂😂

He seems to think the impersonator thing is a real selling point. He used to try serenading me with Elvis songs IN THE LIBRARY. I finally lied and told him I hated music. I thought he was going to cry when I said that to him. Nevertheless, it didn't dissuade him. My not being sympathetic to his phobia with the number 6 was far more effective in chasing him away! 

[Christina87]

15 minutes ago, Zella said:

He seems to think the impersonator thing is a real selling point. He used to try serenading me with Elvis songs IN THE LIBRARY. I finally lied and told him I hated music. I thought he was going to cry when I said that to him. Nevertheless, it didn't dissuade him. My not being sympathetic to his phobia with the number 6 was far more effective in chasing him away! 

HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! Okayyyyyy...thinking it was a selling point puts him in the 1% of most delusional people on our planet. 😂😂😂 it's like...duuuude, you are not a rock star! I know one Elvis impersonator, and he totally realizes that it's a silly thing to do, because he's self aware. I can't imagine how bad it would be to deal with the crazies in a library where you literally can't get away! lol! Good for you for not DYING of embarrassment when the serenades started! 😂🤦🏼‍♀️

[Zella]

Haha Yeah, I would have been way more okay with the Elvis impersonator thing if he didn't take himself so seriously over it. 

Fortunately, most of our patrons are very nice, non-creepy people who do not want to sing to me. Or if they do, they keep it to themselves. :D 

[Rabbittron]

I just got home from a sex reveal oh my bad a gender reveal and the girl I work with she would be a perfect 1950s housewife because she is so proper. How we found out what she was having was with the food so we opened up the boxes of food and she said that's right I'm having a taco and a hot dog. 

[Temperance]

Has anybody heard from Galaxychaser. I know they've been lonely. If you're reading this @galaxychaser, just know I'm thinking of you. 

[galaxychaser]

Law & order svu s17 episode 7 is based on Duggar’s.  

Virtue ball, purity ceremony etc.

4 minutes ago, Temperance said:

Has anybody heard from Galaxychaser. I know they've been lonely. If you're reading this @galaxychaser, just know I'm thinking of you. 

I’m lurking mostly. Thanks for thinking about me.

[galaxychaser]

On 11/21/2018 at 9:28 PM, Christina87 said:

Happy thanksgiving, and I hope everyone's dinners are filled with casseroles better than Jill's!

low bar, I know, so everyone will clear it. I wonder how many total cans of soup are involved in the Dillard's meal!

25 ish 

[galaxychaser]

38 minutes ago, Rabbittron said:

I just got home from a sex reveal oh my bad a gender reveal and the girl I work with she would be a perfect 1950s housewife because she is so proper. How we found out what she was having was with the food so we opened up the boxes of food and she said that's right I'm having a taco and a hot dog. 

Boy and girl twins are the best.

[EVS]

On 11/21/2018 at 8:28 PM, Christina87 said:

Happy thanksgiving, and I hope everyone's dinners are filled with casseroles better than Jill's!

low bar, I know, so everyone will clear it. I wonder how many total cans of soup are involved in the Dillard's meal!

 

 

2 hours ago, galaxychaser said:

25 ish 

Mixed with 2 cans of turkey and dumped over 12 tortillas, then covered in cheese and baked. Finished product divided among 40-50 people. 

Edited November 25, 2018 by EVS

[Scarlett45]

I had a wonderful thanksgiving. Now that my Mom is semi retired she didn’t work the holiday so I put up her xmas tree while she napped and took care of my sister. Friday my BFF cooked her traditional thanksgiving dinner and it was amazing. Today it was unseasonably warm so I hung my outdoor lights. That was a WORK OUT! “Up down, up down, up down” all day on the ladder. You always need more lights than you think. 

I love the holidays so much. 

[andromeda331]

I had a good Thanksgiving too. We went to my brother's house for Thanksgiving. I was praying all the way up to that I'd have no flare ups or anything that would make my dad and me skip it. I can handle myself skipping it but I hate when my medical problems cause Dad to miss out on things. Especially holidays. But thank God Thanksgiving came and just the usual. We were able to go for a couple hours. Eat, talk with other family, it was so great to see my brother, sister-in-law and my nephew. He's such a cool kid. Their two dogs kept wanting to be petted and were happy when I gave them a little turkey. 

[bigskygirl]

On 11/21/2018 at 5:45 PM, bythelake said:

Glad you’re okay. I use an IPad for most things, but if I need to use the laptop, I have an Acer. Really reasonable,Walmart sells them and they’re great. I’ve killed several Dells. My grandkids in college have MacPros, which do last,but the cost is prohibitive.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and all the great posters on this forum.

Can you use I-tunes on an Acer laptop. I am looking at a HP chromebook also. I do not need a big fancy computer. I just want to be able to use I-Tunes, internet, do some document work, and be able to print things off if it. I also would like to be able to play card games and games like monopoly and game of life on it with no problems.

[bythelake]

4 hours ago, bigskygirl said:

Can you use I-tunes on an Acer laptop. I am looking at a HP chromebook also. I do not need a big fancy computer. I just want to be able to use I-Tunes, internet, do some document work, and be able to print things off if it. I also would like to be able to play card games and games like monopoly and game of life on it with no problems.

My grandson the computer whiz says you can use I-tunes on the Acer. It also comes with a lot of card games. I play spider solitaire.. don’t know about Monopoly  or Life.

You can print on both the Acer  and a chrome book. I think you can find they are comparable in price. I like the Acer because it’s well made and has all the programs I need at a reasonable price.

Good luck shopping. There are lots of sales out there this time of year. 

[MargeGunderson]

4 hours ago, bigskygirl said:

Can you use I-tunes on an Acer laptop. I am looking at a HP chromebook also. I do not need a big fancy computer. I just want to be able to use I-Tunes, internet, do some document work, and be able to print things off if it. I also would like to be able to play card games and games like monopoly and game of life on it with no problems.

Yes, you just have to download the ITunes program on to your laptop. You can’t use it on a Chromebook, though. 

When I bought my laptop last year, I relied on the reviews from The Wirecutter website. They have a nice review of laptops under $500. I ended up with an Asus that they recommended for business laptops, since I sometime use mine for work.

[Loves2Dance]

@Westiepeach promised me wine.

[ChiCricket]

One of my daughters and I spent Thanksgiving in Texas, on a 15,000 acre cattle ranch.

 I never thought I'd type that sentence! 😂

  It's owned by my SIL (the doctor)'s friend, who let us stay for free in his "little" 5 bedroom ranch house.

   Then they had us all up to their main "big" 12 bedroom ranch house for a catered Thanksgiving dinner.  

Oh..and I shot a gun for the first time in my life. 

Edited November 27, 2018 by ChiCricket

[Mindthinkr]

@emma675 How did your Mother so with her surgery yesterday? 

[Scarlett45]

6 hours ago, ChiCricket said:

One of my daughters and I spent Thanksgiving in Texas, on a 15,000 acre cattle ranch.

 I never thought I'd type that sentence! 😂

  It's owned by my SIL (the doctor)'s friend, who let us stay for free in his "little" 5 bedroom ranch house.

   Then had us all up to their main "big" 12 bedroom ranch house for a catered Thanksgiving dinner.  

Oh..and I shot a gun for the first time in my life. 

Wow. I’m sure it was beautiful. Despite being a city gal at heart I do think the country is gorgeous. 

[Scarlett45]

6 hours ago, ChiCricket said:

One of my daughters and I spent Thanksgiving in Texas, on a 15,000 acre cattle ranch.

 I never thought I'd type that sentence! 😂

  It's owned by my SIL (the doctor)'s friend, who let us stay for free in his "little" 5 bedroom ranch house.

   Then had us all up to their main "big" 12 bedroom ranch house for a catered Thanksgiving dinner.  

Oh..and I shot a gun for the first time in my life. 

Wow. I’m sure it was beautiful. Despite being a city gal at heart I do think the country is gorgeous. 

[BitterApple]

8 hours ago, ChiCricket said:

One of my daughters and I spent Thanksgiving in Texas, on a 15,000 acre cattle ranch.

 I never thought I'd type that sentence! 😂

  It's owned by my SIL (the doctor)'s friend, who let us stay for free in his "little" 5 bedroom ranch house.

   Then had us all up to their main "big" 12 bedroom ranch house for a catered Thanksgiving dinner.  

Oh..and I shot a gun for the first time in my life. 

That sounds like fun. I'd love to experience experience a place like that.

[ChiCricket]

4 hours ago, BitterApple said:

That sounds like fun. I'd love to experience experience a place like that.

My grands had the best time. All of them got to drive the "mule" all over the ranch.....and shoot guns...even the 10 year old.

(grammie couldn't watch)🤤

There was tons of experienced supervision for both.

Ps. I have never felt like such a Chicago Yankee before this

(but they were extremely gracious to us all)😊

Edited November 27, 2018 by ChiCricket

[Christina87]

I had an awesome Thanksgiving, too! It makes no sense, since I'm not working this year, but I appreciated being home and getting to relax with my parents for the better part of a week more than I ever have before! I'm really not sure why, as it wasn't a "break" like usual, but I just felt more appreciative of everything. Most of my aunts, uncles, and cousins didn't know about the job thing, but they were all compassionate and helpful, and no one seemed judgmental like I had feared. My parents are supportive, and say they don't worry about me either, because I have always found my way. They're proud I left that job for my mental health, and it's even better that they cut the position, so I can just tell people that! No one has trouble believing a chorus teacher got laid off, for sure. I don't know what's ahead of me, but times like this make me feel optimistic! I really feel like God has a plan for my life (and I know not everyone on here is religious!) and is kind of pressing the "pause" button on my life to get me in the right mindset to fully embrace what's coming. I also got to see my best friend, which was such a huge treat! I feel like I really do have so much to be thankful for, even though the biggies (job, relationship) are not here right now. I've learned to slow down and appreciate what is going right instead of dwelling on what's going wrong! I was always the overachieving straight A student, and so much of my self-worth has been tied to being an achiever with big accomplishments. This is a new experience for me, and not a bad one. Everyone needs to learn 1) they aren't immune to failure, 2) be thankful for what you have, and 3) how to keep the faith that better days are coming!